What's your fitness score and watts/kg?

[Velocomp]

I thought it might be fun to start a new thread that focuses on the fitness test and the resulting W/KG measurement.

I've been dreading doing the fitness test; I did one last fall and it wasn't pretty, but I have been able to ride outdoors a lot more this winter in Florida (for newcomers: I lived in Montana last winter and did not ride between October 15 and June 13). Yesterday I was out riding and some guy blew by me. I thought to myself: "This will not stand" and I found, much to my surprise, that I was able to pick up my pace to 300W and hold it for a few minutes. I caught him and he was not happy, so I let him go...

With that, I decided to do a fitness test this AM. The complete ride file is attached. There was a light tail wind for the ride. I warmed up for about 10 minutes prior to the test, and then blasted off.

You will see the test as the second interval in the ride file.

You'll note that at two places my power drops to zero. This was at stoplights. I used the pause feature of the Fit Test (click center button) to not screw-up my test.

You'll see that I was too fast at the beginning and died a bit right in the middle. Now, I am not being coached by anyone and normally I just ride for fun and distance, but this ride file definitely tells me to focus on maintaining my pace in the middle of the test. I had a bit of legs at the end, though I found I was more limited by my lungs than by my legs.

I was aiming for a fitness level 3 but only got to a 2; that's the bad news. The good news is that my W/KG was 2.31, up from 2.15 last fall. My average watts were 240, up 20W from last fall.

It is EXTREMELY CLEAR what I need to do in order to improve; more cycling, less eating. That is what I am working on now and I am going to use the built-in interval workouts to aid in my training.

I figured that by being the first to post here I could set the low bar for everyone else to brag against.

Let's see some more files and have some more discussion. And as the summer progresses maybe I'll make another posting, this time with better results. Boyd says that a fitness level 3 allows me to say I'm a Cat 5 cyclist. If so then I suspect that when I get there many of you will move on to a different sport!

[pantani]

Did fitness test and achieved level 6. I was happy with this result also following watts is a lot easier than heart rate.

[riderofrohan]

Also a level 2! One of my favorite aspects of power training is the accurate report of calories burned which is so helpful in weight loss. Power training is very useful for recreational cyclists as well! I use the free site calorie count http://caloriecount.about.com/to track my food intake and add to it the calories burned on rides. For me, I'm working on strength and on shedding lbs...watts per kg!

[benlane]

My last test was around a month ago, scored 4.1 w/kg.
I race in the UK mainly in cat 2/3/4 level races. Try and avoid kickings off the elites where possible!

[mds]

I'm 53, 260w FTP, level 4, 3.25 w/kg, riding for fun. Using my iSport to pace my climbs and monitor my rest and recovery. This morning's ride: 2400kJ, 194w average, 5400ft climbed.

[hakuna]

Ok, just got back from the 20 min fitness test. 49 years old, 211lbs and 6ft tall (read: too fat!). I got a fitness level 3, 2.64 w/kg. I was hoping for better. I have discovered that I have a lot of fast twitch though. About 10 minutes *after* the test I stormed a 30 sec hill with a peak of 969W. Normally I can do that hill well in excess of a 1000W. I guess I'm a sprinter.

Gary

[wellmt]

I'm currently level 4 - and got so close to level 5...I got 3.45W/kg and and needed 3.47 to be level 5.

I don't race, just do hard solo rides mainly or Sportives here in the UK.

[wellmt]

Just did another test, as it's been a few weeks and got 3.55 W/kg - Fitness level 5

I didn't press the correct buttons on the iBike to see what my FTP was, but looking at the ride data in the iBike software I got an average of 242.3 watts. If take 95% of that = 230w.

The road was a constant up and down and I ran out of road and had to repeat a portion, didn't bother pausing the meter, hence the drops in power/cadence as I turned around in the road. Is this a valid test on a rolling road like this?

It's hard to find a road at least 20 mins long around here thats not a major traffic road, let alone one that's flat. Usually I use a flattish little circuit I've put together, but this test was taken at the end of an aborted long ride this morning. I thought I'd do something useful.

[Velocomp]

While doing the fitness test you can click the center button to pause the test. I do this when I approach stop lights. Then, after getting through the light I click the center button again to resume the test.

Note that the iB3 software will record the time at the stoplights as zero power, so your average power as reported by iB3 will be lower than the (correct) average power measured by the iBike.

[MdC]

Today I got 4.57 watts per kilo. I am 37, 80kg, now with an FTP of 345 watts. I did a month of the level 6 strength intervals as per the sheet CoachBoyd provided. A weeks rest, then a hard ride (Otways classic, a sportif ride over the Great Divide and along the coast, 145km in 4.5hrs) followed by a very light week before the test. The previous FTP I was using was 295. I think I needed to do a fitness test before the training as I do not think I improved that much in a short time.
Any Melbournians looking for a good spot for the test, try the Black Forest Drive between Gisbourne and Woodend. It is a pretty steady climb and just long enough for the 20 mins.
The bad news is now the intervals are going to be harder when I start training again this week. The laws of physics are a harsh mistress, but the iBike is a terrific tool for training.
I should stop fooling around and try racing.

[bex]

Hmmm
I screwed up my fitness test by entering my total body/clothing/bike weight (181lbs) rather than my actual body weight (157lbs)
Can I rescue my test results by just recalculating manually from the result I was given (which was 235 by the way)
Or do I need to re test?
I am 49 and a novice, both at biking and reading/using my new iaero, but I am getting more used to it. I pretty much died in the last third of the test. I will know better for the next one.
First time out this weekend, calibration yesterday, fit test today.

Would a horrendous cross wind make a difference to readings to a stem mounted unit with aero bars, the aero bars are quite wide spaced, but the unit could conceivably be protected from the wind by the bars themselves.

Bex

[lorduintah]

I would think that you could ratio the total weight you used and your weight against the test result:

Total weight / your weight * Fitness Watts = revised Watts

181 / 157 * 235 = 271

Tom

[bex]

Thanks Tom

I am not convinced I have my profile set up correctly.
THe numbers for the fit test give me a 5 rating.
I believe thats too high.
It might have been too windy for the calibration ride and the fit test was for sure windy.
I think I should do the whole thing over.

Bex

[benlane]

Today I got 4.57 watts per kilo. I am 37, 80kg, now with an FTP of 345 watts. I did a month of the level 6 strength intervals as per the sheet CoachBoyd provided. A weeks rest, then a hard ride (Otways classic, a sportif ride over the Great Divide and along the coast, 145km in 4.5hrs) followed by a very light week before the test. The previous FTP I was using was 295. I think I needed to do a fitness test before the training as I do not think I improved that much in a short time.
Any Melbournians looking for a good spot for the test, try the Black Forest Drive between Gisbourne and Woodend. It is a pretty steady climb and just long enough for the 20 mins.
The bad news is now the intervals are going to be harder when I start training again this week. The laws of physics are a harsh mistress, but the iBike is a terrific tool for training.
I should stop fooling around and try racing.

MDc - you should. In the UK where I race my current W/KG of 4.2 is more than enough for amateur races, throw in the elites and pro's and I find it very hard, but for 2/3/4 level racing you should be plenty fit enough. Once you get a grasp of the tactics and decent positioning you'd probably do pretty well.
Jump in and give it a go, after one race you'll be hooked.

[pjboyle]

I did the fitness test in early January (due for an updated one) and was Level 4, 3.35 watts/kg, 267 avg watts. I first purchased an iBike in March 2008 and did a version of the fit test I got out of a Joel Friel book at that time, and did only 1.97 watts/kg (Level 1). I owe all this improvement to many miles put in with the iBike and now the iAero, and largely the miles since October under the savvy tutelage of Coach Boyd. I'll be 57 in a couple weeks and started riding in Oct. 2007.

PJBoyle

[heith]

4.05 L6
I could lose 20 pounds though. I'm 180

[racerfern]

I finally got around to doing a second test. Winds were light but were at a crosswind, not too much traffic either. Had to stop three times, two lights and once to turn around.

I managed to get a 2.9 for level 4. I'm 58 years old and at 188 lbs. this morning. That gives me about 235FTP. That's also inline with what I expected. I've been 220FTP for about 6 months now and I've been training quite hard.

Thanks Velocomp! I've set a goal of 240FTP knowing that it gets tougher and tougher.

I just attached the ride file. The second lap is the 20 minute effort. Any comments are gladly welcomed.

[bex]

Racerfern,
I noticed your heart rate, it blows away the theory of 220 minus your age!
WOW
I cannot comment on anything more technical than that, but congratulations on the improvement.

Ibike is so addictive.

I retook my fit test yesterday after several emails between myself and Aaron Timmer helping me with my cd's and calib ride setup. Thanks Aaron.
I am now at level 3 (just) at 49 years of age.
I am fitter than I thought but not as fit as I want to be.

Now I wait for the snow to stop again.

Stephen (Bex)

[racerfern]

Thanks! If I used 220-age I would have to take up a different hobby.

Yeah, that's me. I've actually gotten my max down to about 183. Two years ago it was at 191. Nowadays, I generally won't go over 178. With regular cycling I've gone from 223lbs to 188lbs and my resting HR has dropped from 96(ouch) to 62. I no longer need BP medicine and I'm beginning to think I might live beyond the end of the year.

[Russ]

Finally, I did the fitness test. I use a loop nearby in case the rain picked up, so not an ideal route, it also had a series of small hills. I did about 4.3 or so laps by the time I completed in mostly misty very light rain and maybe up to 3 mph wind.

I am 62 - so Fernando, I am not that far ahead of you in age, but behind you at least as much in power .
199w FTP (up from 195 per WKO) and at 195lbs I got a level 2.

I noticed that, even trying to power through the turns, the power reported dropped off so maybe I would have done better on a straight run as recommended by the instructions.

Russ

[Velocomp]

I visited a bike shop today in Jacksonville FL. The owner was a racer and was very excited about the features of the iAero.

When we got to the "FTP CFG" screen he said he had had his FTP measured many times.

It was 360W.

Very depressing.

[rruff]

Very depressing.

I was talking to my riding buddy the other day about the huge range of natural aerobic ability. We are both old men (~50) and have ~4w/kg FTP when we are in shape. There is only one guy in town who is better, and all the rest (~30 people who ride semi-regularly) are much lower based on their climbing ability. Training certainly has an effect, but if you don't have the genetic gifts, there is only so much you can do. VO2 max is something that doesn't vary much with training. I figure our VO2 max at around 60 or so, compared to low 40s average for the whole population, so we are probably in the top 10% to begin with. But the top pros have a VO2 max in the high 80s... which is a whole different world. Even if I trained like they do (and I did when I was younger), I could still expect to climb at only 65-70% of their speed.

The moral of the story is that we can all enjoy the process of improving and getting in shape... and it's best not to worry too much about other people who happen to be faster or slower. There is a huge range in natural ability.

[Clydeone]

score 4 - 2.82 watts/kg

Pretty happy with that score for my first time out -- seems like I could have done better had I maintained a steadier power -- I seemed to vary more than I should have -- I also think a longer warm up would help I only warmed up for 10 minutes -- I was at about 300 watts avg by the half way point and I finished with 326 so the second half was better. Not the greatest course (I was on my way into work and I wanted to get one done) I can see why a long steady climb would be the perfect way to perform this test but I live in SW michigan so the longest climb around here is about 3/4 of a mile. This was on an Isport-- got it on Saturday -- love it so far.

[Velocomp]

Where in SW Michigan? I used to live in St. Joseph and bike the (flat) roads around Lake Michigan.

[Clydeone]

I'm in Saint Joseph been riding to work and doing local group rides for the last 3 1/2 years -- Yes its relatively flat - but you really need to check out Central IL for flat (or florida)

[pjboyle]

Or south Louisiana!

PJBoyle

[Russ]

Velocomp wrote:Very depressing.

John, You should be jumping for joy man, the only reason I posted the lowest numbers ever recorded by an iBike owner was out of sacrificial love so you could feel great!

Thanks for all the great support too! Now I have to load 3.09 and ride

Russ

[tosterbe]

Got up early on the left coast today and did the test today.

I am 38 and got back on the cycling bandwagon about one year ago. FTP of 282 and w/kg of 3.14. Score of 4 on the fitness test.

I recently upgraded from a G1 and had done some FTP estimation using collected data and http://www.goldencheetah.org. I had thought that my FTP was closer to the 250-260.

What a great way to start the day.

To John and the rest of the team, the upgrade was well worth the cost and I am truly a satisfied customer.

Todd

[dbrouse]

I did a Fitness Test yesterday (10/9/09), I'm 37 years old been cycling (recreation level) for 3 seasons. I'm 6ft tall and weigh 225 lb. My scores were as follows:

2.66 w/kg
LEVEL 3
FTP: 260

Delane

[doofus]

I look at a lot of data to establish FTP -- 20MP tests, back-to-back climbs up Ceasar's Head, computrainer TTs, Lowe's TTs, and what my highest 60MP is in WKO+. I don't put too much stock in any one of these -- I think unless you have a lot 40kTT data you have to look at power over the spectrum from 20 to 60 minutes in different contexts to get a good idea of FTP. I could be entirely wrong.

From all this crud, 330w, 4.71 looks like FTP.